


The Choice

by Eravalefantasy



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen, Red Lyrium, Red Templars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 18:27:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15200786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eravalefantasy/pseuds/Eravalefantasy
Summary: You've been told of a man in Emprise du Lion who is a friend to Templars, but the man you found is nothing like a friend.





	The Choice

 “Left or right?” The man sits across from you at a table; two piles of cards rest face down. He is younger than you expected, pleasant and is eager to assist. The style of his robe suggests he may be a healer, but regardless of your concerns, time runs short. 

Realizing you may have missed his question, you apologize. “I beg your pardon?”

“It is not a difficult question. I am not asking you to choose one child over another or perhaps your right eye over the left. There is a deck before you, tell me which pile. Left or right?”

You learned of this place by way of your Templar brothers. They say the man before you can heal the red corruption within you. You feel it, feeding on you, growing. The pain increases with every day that passes. Wondering what his game entails, if it leads to freedom, you will play.

You steel yourself, steady your voice and reply. “Right. I choose the right.” His eyes narrow as you make your selection; it changes your mind in an instant. “No, I mean left!”

He sighs. “I despise indecision . . . or perhaps I don’t. I can never remember which from day to day.” His grin widens. “Left, then?” Now you cannot leave for the game has begun. He picks up the cards on the left and shuffles them before returning the pile to the table. “Are you prepared to begin?” You nod.

The first card reveals a disturbing image.  A dragon descends from the heavens its wings pushing four figures through a large shimmering mirror. He taps the image with his finger and speaks. “Judgement. In a time of unrest, four of the Evanuris chose to leave rather than fight. In retaliation, they were cast out, labeled the Forbidden Ones-forever exiled.” 

“Judgement? Exile? So you mean to say I am to be cast out of the Templar Order?”

“Before you is an opportunity to be . . . reborn or perhaps ascend if you wish.” He turns the next card and runs his finger along the edge of it. You see a tower- tall, black, and engulfed in flames. Men hurl themselves over the crumbling ramparts to their death. You wait for him to explain.

The man leers at you again reveling in your dread. “The image is disturbing, yes, but it depicts change. Change is the way of life; true change can be violent -painful and dreadful, but even in that upheaval, there is beauty. The proof is here in my charges all around you.”

Crunching snow in the courtyard below pulls your attention revealing others like yourself. The armor is similar to yours, but the red crystals growing from their skin far greater than your own. Behind them, immense crystalline creatures lumber closer to the steps, a hint of their former lives left in otherwise vacant eyes.

The man across from you inhales deeply before continuing. “My beautiful red lyrium. Ruin and chaos created them. Here - they thrive in my care. As will you, my friend.” He leans toward you, his eyes bright with amusement. “Call me . . .Imshael.”


End file.
